Metallic cabinet structure



May 21, 1935. H. no

METALLIC CABINET STRUCTURE Filed June 14, 193:5

F gl.

Inventov I Hiroshi Etc,

His Attorney.

Patented May 21, 1935 r PATENT oFFlcE o csamnrsrnuc'rnnn Etc, Tokyo, Japan, 'assignor' to General Electric Company, a corporation ofNew York ns 14,1933. No. 875,682 r 'Noyembcr18,19 32 ec nmnicizzo-an a My invention relatesto metallic cabinet structures, such; for example, as are used for refrigeratorc'abinets. v It is desirable to provide metal refrigerator cabinetswith iointswhich are hermetically sealed. When constructing refrigerator cabinets of thin sheet metal with welded Joints it has been found difficult to form an air-tight joint by welding without heating the walls to such an extent as to cause warping. Spot welding may be employed with considerable success, but unless the welded spots overlap, the joints may not be air-tight.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a welded sheet metal cabinet structure having welded Joints which do not produce warp- "ing of the structure and having a seal for rendering the joints air-tight.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple and eflicient seal for sheet metal joints.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved method for making an air-tight seal for metallic refrigerator cabinets employing welded Joints.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparentas the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the outer metallic shell of a refrigerator cabinet having a bottom wall secured to the side walls of the shell by a joint constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the joint shown in Fig. l at one stage of the construction thereof; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the completed joint shown in Fig, 1.

Referring to the drawing, in Fig. 1 I have shown the outer metal shell of a refrigerator cabinet comprising side walls lji, ll, l2 and i2 formed from a single metal sheet welded together at the ends. The front wall I3 is provided with a door opening l4 about which extend inturned flanges ll of the wall. The tops of the walls III, II, l2 and II are provided with bent-over portions I6 extending about an opening ii in the top of the cabinet through which a refrigerating cooling unit may be inserted, the bent-over portions l8 forming a seat on which a top for the cabinet may rest and support a refrigerating mechanism.

In accordance with my invention, the walls III, II, I2 and 13 are provided with flanges I! turned in at the bottom thereof about an opening II in the bottom of the cabinet, the flanges 18' being welded together at the corners along the line 2..

A metal sheetor plate, 2| having a peripheral flange 22 formed at right angles to the sheet as g shownin Fig. 2, is placed withinthe cabinet and rests upon the flanges It at the bottom thereof, with the peripheral flange 22 extending'upwardly, as shown. I The flange 22is spaced from the side walls M, II, l2 and I3 as shown'in Fig. 2. m When the plate 2| is in this position it is spotwelded to the flanges It to secure it rigidly to the remainder of the cabinet. In order to be sure that the joint formed between the plate 2| and flanges I! will be air-tight, I place a continuous 15 strip of any suitable resilient material 23 in the space between the walls III, II, l2 and I2 and the flange 22, and then bend the flange 22 outwardly against the strip of resilient material 23 and compress the strip tightly between the walls and flange 22, which forms an air-tight joint.

By constructing the Joints of a refrigerator cabinet in the manner described above, the advantages of a welded construction are obtained, and the disadvantage of warping of a metal cabinet structure due to overheating as in the fusion 35 welding process is avoided, and an air-tight, or hermetically sealed joint is obtained. The method of forming this joint is extremely simple and results in greatly decreased cost of manufacture. The Joint formed is neat and durable 40 and admirably suited to the construction of refrigerator cabinets.

While I have described my invention is connection with the construction of the outer metal shell of a refrigeratorcabinet, it will be apparent 45 that it is applicable to other cabinet constructions, and I do not desire my invention to be limited to the specific embodiment shown and described, and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications thereof which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. A cabinet structure including a plurality of sheet metal walls, one of said walls having ants opening therein, a metal plate welded to said one wall within said structure and closing the opening in said wall, said plate having a peripheral flangespaced from the others of said walls, and means including resilient material between said flange and said walls for hermetically sealing said plate and said walls.

2. A cabinet including a plurality of metal walls, one of said walls having an opening therein, a metal sheet'closing the opening in said wall and welded to the inner surface of said wall, said sheet having a peripheral flange extending inwardly from said wall and spaced from the others of said walls, and means including resilient material compressed between said flange and said other walls for hermetically sealing saidsheet and said cabinet.

3. A cabinet including a plurality of metal walls forming the sides thereof and having flanges at the bottom thereof, a bottom wall for said cabinet comprising a peripherally flanged metal sheet welded to the flanges on said walls at the bottom thereof, and means including a strip of resilient material compressed between the peripheral flange of said sheet and said walls for hermetically sealing said bottom wall and said side walls.

4. A cabinet including a plurality of metal side walls having flanges at the bottoms thereof, a

' continuous body of resilient material arranged around the bottoms of said side walls on the inner inside of said walls at the bottoms thereof, and

means including a flange on said bottom plate engaging and compressing said resilient strip for ,forming an hermetically sealed joint between said walls and said plate.

6. The method of forming an hermetically sealed joint between one side of a cabinet structure and the adjoining sides thereof, which comprises forming inturned flanges on said adjoining sides, forming a peripheral flange on said one side. welding'said one side to the flanges on said adjacent sides with said peripheral flange spaced from said. adjoining sides, filling the space between said sides and said peripheral flange with resilient material, and bending said peripheral flange toward said adjoining sides to compress said resilient material therebetween.

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